Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers (Oath Keepers), and 10 defendants were charged with “incitement to conspiracy” as part of the investigation into the raid on the Congress building on January 6, 2021, in the USA, by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Rhodes is the first defendant in the case to be tried on this charge so far. The crime of “incitemental conspiracy” is defined as an attempt to “forcefully overthrow, overthrow, or overthrow the U.S. government.” The penalty for this crime is a maximum of 20 years in prison. Nine of the 11 defendants were already facing other charges.
During the congressional registration session of Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3, 2020 elections, 5 people lost their lives in the events.
The extremist group Oath Keepers, which is especially active and aims to gain the support of former military and police officers, was among the groups that took part in the 6 January Congress raid.
According to prosecutors’ statements, Rhodes, the founder of Oath Keepers, spread his plans to go to Washington on January 6, 2021, via an encrypted communication channel in December 2020. Rhodes and other Trump supporters are reportedly planning to arrive in the capital armed.
The indictment regarding Rhodes and other Oath Keepers defendants states that some members of the organization raided the Congress building in an equipped manner, while others were waiting outside the building as an ’emergency response team’. Prosecutors say this team, waiting outside, is prepared to provide weapons quickly if needed.
The indictment also included details that the head of the ’emergency response team’ was Thomas Caldwell, one of the previous defendants in the case, and Edward Vallejo, one of the new defendants.
Of the cases in which more than 725 have been charged so far, about 165 have pleaded guilty; at least 70 of them were convicted.